Fire brigade board sued by former employee for breach of contract

The Board of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) has been sued by a former employee for breach of contract arising from her dismissal last month.

Natalie Waldron-Cato said in her claim filed on Wednesday by attorney-at-law Hugh Wildman that she agreed to work for the JFB for a period of six months before transitioning to a permanent employee.

She was not employed as a permanent employee but rather dismissed from the JFB.

She contends that the defendant breached the contract which resulted in her suffering loss and incurring expenses.

In the particulars of the claim Waldron-Cato says she is a human resource director.

She said she was working in a post at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade when she applied in September 2023 for the post of senior director, human resource management and development at the JFB.

She was subsequently interviewed on September 28, 2023 and offered the job on October 30,2023.

She was told in the employment letter that she would be temporarily employed in the post, pending the successful completion of a six-month probationary period.

The JFB then requested that she be released from the Ministry on secondment to the brigade and that was done.

She said she served beyond the probationary period and would have transitioned to permanent employment as no issues were found with her performance yet she was not formally appointed as a permanent employee pursuant to the employment contract.

“When dismissing an employee of the JFB, an evaluation of that worker must be done and board submissions must be drafted and submitted to the Board for consideration. Once that is done, it is then brought to the attention of the Commissioner of the JFB, for the Commissioner and the defendant to consider the dismissal of the worker,” she stated in her claim.

She said in her case none of those procedures or steps were followed and the Commissioner was unaware that she was to be dismissed.

The claimant is seeking damages for breach of contract as well as aggravated damages.

Wildman has been instructed by the Jamaica Civil Service Association to represent the claimant.

- Barbara Gayle

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